Robin Stam

Copywriter Robin Stam defies rules, challenges conventions and loathes the status quo in advertising. After five hectic years in Dutch advertising he studied at the Miami Ad School in Hamburg and worked at Duval Guillaume Brussels. Now he's back in Holland again to work for Lemz Amsterdam.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Small break

It's been really busy these last few days. If I'm at home I have other things to do than to write for my blog and if I'm at work I haven't got the time for it. So I'll take the opportunity to write for my blog as a small break. I have to go within half an hour and I still have to write headlines in that time. This weekend I'm going to Alkmaar to celebrate Queensday. At the earliest I'll arrive at 23.00 there. Later than expected because there's too much to do.

Some say that time pressure makes you creative, but it doesn't seem to work every day. Talking about time pressure... I still have to write headlines. Lots of them. And the client made sure that there are so many restrictions that it's impossible to make something slightly interesting. I mean, I'm quite optimistic, but there is a limit. I'm going back too work now. I've had my little break and now I still have 20 minutes to make the damn headlines.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Brainstorming to the studio

Right now I'm in the radio studio to record a campaign of 5 radio spots. We had a really hard time yesterday because the preferred campaign was changed all the time and last night we I worked at home until midnight to think of new ideas. In the morning we thought of new ones and by the time our creative director decided on the final ideas we already had to be in the studio.

So around lunchtime we rushed to the studio and here we are. Within a record time of half an hour we recorded the 5 spots (they were very short) and now we're doing the voice over. In fact, the voice over is being recorded right now, so I'm going back to work.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

AZ champion of Holland

I hate soccer. I find it hard to understand what keeps people motivated to see a couple of grown up people running behind a ball every week. But there are a few exceptions when I can feel a spark of the excitement.

Last Sunday AZ, the soccer team of my city of birth Alkmaar, became champions of Holland. Because they haven't been champion since soccer was broadcasted on black and white television, this was a great party for the people from Alkmaar. Usually I'm there whenever there's a party. But this week I couldn't be there. And although I don't like soccer, when I see the entire cheesemarket-square stuffed with cheering people it makes me feel bad that I missed it. And I'm happy for AZ that after years of struggling they finally made it to the top.

Luckily, the 30th of April it's Queensday in Holland. On this day you'll see the same chaos as you see in the video above, but instead of wearing the colors of the local soccer club, everybody is wearing orange.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Twice as fast

Our traffic planner, Hughues, does his job way too well. As soon as we think we have a bit of a rest: bam... a briefing for a radiocommercial falls in the little gap. We got the assignment tomorrow and the deadline is today.

With flash-assignments like these it's good to have a teampartner. Because the brainstorm sessions go at least twice as fast when I work with Victor. Besides, when you work alone there's always a risk that you go to the review with too much darlings: ideas that you, only you but nobody else likes.

I forgot to take my scribble book with me yesterday, but it didn't really matter because we had enough ideas already. So I didn't need to work on the train. Time to take a little rest. I finally had a necessary, normal sleep last night.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Osdorp Posse

This week I had so much work that I could go on forever. In order to stay healthy, I have a sensible fuck it-mentality and I didn't go on forever. I live for my job, but I don't want to die on it.

So on Friday I left the agency at five o'clock to go to Holland. I still had to do some assignments on the train but for the rest I was just reading. Usually I go to Holland in the beginning of the month. But this time I went the week after. The reason for that was because the hiphop group Osdorp Posse was playing in Alkmaar for the last time.

Now usually I'm not a big fan of hiphop. Unless the music is really original or really hardcore. Osdorp Posse is both. They are the first to make rap music in the Dutch language, which was a strange thing to do when they first started in 1989. They are known for their provocative lyrics, their uncompromising style and concerts where you always leave with a few bruises on your body. Here you can see one their concerts, where they play together with death metalband Nembrionic Hammerdeath.

Their last concert was a memorable one. I've seen a lot of some crazy concerts of them. When I was only 16 years old I saw them for the first time in punk hangout Parkhof, which was only half full. A few years later they played on the Lowlands festival, where so many fans ran on stage that the stage collapsed. But this band is not just about craziness. Their music reflects their anarchistic and uncompromising way of life and have been a true inspiration for me throughout my entire youth. They are the living proof that if you do something that you believe in without making any concessions, it won't always be easy but in the end it will bring you success. It's a pity that the band stops. But Osdorp Posse will be remembered as the most legendary Dutch hiphop group ever. Hardcore will never die.

Wednesday, April 08, 2009

Victor Vegh

My new art-director at his desk

After months of working in solitude I finally have a new teampartner. Victor Vegh from Germany is at Duval Guillaume for his internship. He travelled an entire sleepless night by train to come to Brussels. So on Monday he walked in dead tired with his backpack.

But there's no such thing as a slow beginning at Duval Guillaume, so Victor was put immediately to work on a layout assignment. And despite the exhaustion he was eager enough to start already. That's the Miami Ad School spirit. And because he's so hard working it motivates me even more to stay more hours in the agency these coming months.

It's his third day in the agency and he adapts rapidly tot his new environment. My first impression tells me I'm going to make really good work with Victor.

Thursday, April 02, 2009

Blocked

This week there's too much work. That's why I'm writing this post at 11:30. I just came home from work. The last two hours at work made no sense at all, cause my creativity was dried out for the day. The most difficult thing about working in a creative profession is that you never know when you're at your most creative. Sometimes I try to figure out what actually gets the creative fire burning, but it's hopeless. There seems to be no correlation between my physical state and creative capabilities. I can be really productive when I have a hangover, but I can also be very uncreative when I slept enough and feel totally healthy; and vice versa. In these times you notice how important it is to work together with a good teampartner.

You can only be creative for a few hours a day, the problem is you never know which few hours.